


Waging War With Myself

by LittleDancer8



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Comfort, Don't copy to another website, Friendship, Gen, Growing Up, Ice Skating, Personal Growth, Post-Canon, figure skating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-03
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-10-03 18:46:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17289422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleDancer8/pseuds/LittleDancer8
Summary: When Yuri grows four inches in just a few short months his jumps and ego suffer for it. Can Yuuri's friendship help him get through this tough time?





	Waging War With Myself

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Bearixt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bearixt/gifts).



> For [Bearixt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bearixt/). I hope you enjoy this story you helped to inspire!
> 
> Tumblr: [littledancer8-writes](https://littledancer8-writes.tumblr.com/)

The chilled air rested heavy and stale around the rink as if the ice itself had forgotten to breathe. The sound of blades scraping angrily across the ice was echoing off the boards. The pace was fast with a fierce determination behind the scars maring the surface being left in the wake of the sharp edges. A toepick dug in, gashing yet another wound into the once glossy finish. Silence hung in the air for a second that felt much longer. A resounding thud of body meeting the unforgiving ice rang out first. The skitter of blades dragging behind the tensed form and a subsequent slam hitting the boards followed.

The Ice Tiger of Russia clawed his way back up to stand on shaky and unsure legs. A growth spurt of four inches in a few months time had wreaked havoc on Yuri’s center of gravity. His limbs were longer and lankier. The slim build of his body started to morph into having more pronounced muscles. Each difference added to the current war he was having with his jumps. Clean landings had been few and far between after the first two inches and those that were landed looked like they belonged to a newborn giraffe trying to figure out its too long legs.

Everyone in the rink remained in a hesitant silence, unsure of what to say or if they should move as they had watched the twelfth attempt at a quad salchow fail even more spectacularly than the eleven attempts before it. There would certainly be an interesting patchwork of bruises to follow.

The first to break the unnerving quiet was Yuri himself as he angrily skated to the opening in the boards and started towards the locker room. “I'm not going to get in the damn jump harness!” he shouted before letting the door slam with an resounding thud behind him.

Yakov let out a low groan while closing his eyes and pressing on his temples. The sharp glare he shot in Victor's direction when he opened them had a clear meaning.

“It's okay. I'll go. You keep practicing.” Yuuri said while letting his hand run over Victor's shoulder before skating towards the exit himself. When he reached the edge of the ice he put his own skate guards on before grabbing Yuri's.

Yuri stood in the back corner shower stall with his forehead pressed to the cool tiled wall. His eyes were pinched shut to keep the moisture that threatened to spill onto his blonde lashes locked inside. His breaths were shallow and labored with a weight on his chest that had nothing to do with the exertion of practice.

The knock on the door was soft and unassuming. Yuri knew only one person there would even bother knocking, not to mention knock in that manner. The hinges let out a quick, high pitched squeal as the door was slowly pushed open.

“Yura?” came from Yuuri tentatively. He heard the telltale sound of a cut off sniffle.

“Get lost Katsudon!” Yuri barked out.

“Alright. I'll leave if you really want me to, but I brought your guards.”

Silence. It dragged on for several beats until Yuri heard the door being gently closed and the distinctive thunks of covered blades walking across the tiled floor before the creak of a bench straining under weight.

Nothing was asked, nothing was demanded and no empty words of comfort ensuring that everything was fine or would get better came from Yuuri. Just an understanding quiet hung in the damp air of the locker room.

Yuri finally opened his eyes, but didn't dare to move from his spot yet. “I don't know why they sent you in here. You didn't have a growth spurt of several inches all at once.” The words were spat out like poison.

“I didn't,” Yuuri agreed. He let a small smile pull up at the corners of his mouth. Since the move to Russia, Yuuri had realized that his younger namesake had actually followed his skating career fairly closely. Every now and then a small piece of information like this would slip out.

“And no one sent me in here,” Yuuri continued.

Yuri lifted his head from the tile and turned towards the benches. Yuuri sat at the end of the bench furthest away from where Yuri was currently standing, facing away from him with his back straight.

“Then why are you here?” was asked with an edge of curiosity.

“Because I know what it's like when your biggest fights are with yourself.” Yuuri replied with a simple clarity.

Yuri stared at the mop of jet black hair several meters away from him before he started walking towards the bench where Yuuri sat. He quickly grabbed his guards from where they rested next to the older man and plopped down in their place. He slid the guards on and kept his gaze firmly trained on his skates.

“It's not fair,” Yuri grumbled.

“It isn't.”

“There are expectations!”

“There are.”

“I'm supposed to be the next ‘Living Legend’.” 

The title was said with an amount of mocking that almost made Yuuri break into a chuckle. He simply hummed in agreement and nodded his head.

Yuri pulled his head up to study Yuuri. His gaze swept across his friend, rinkmate and fellow competitor. Yuuri continued to sit on the bench, looking forward with a serene expression.

“You’re really bad at this. Aren’t you supposed to tell me that it will get easier with time, that I’ll get used to this new body and be a better skater for it or something?” Yuuri huffed out, but it held no real bite.

“Probably, but that’s not your truth right now.” Yuuri said with a shrug and a quick glance towards Yuri.

Yuri let out a sigh that had his shoulders releasing the pent up tension they had held. “How do you handle it?” was asked in a much more subdued tone.

Yuuri paused for a moment to collect his thoughts before letting out a soft huff of a laugh. “Most of the time, not very well. You know this.”

The tone wasn’t accusatory, but Yuri couldn’t help the small shudder that ran down his spine as he recalled the events of the Grand Prix Final’s bathroom in Sochi. It wasn’t either of their proudest moments, but for different reasons.

“But I try to do the best I can in the moment and push myself to do better the next time. The important thing is that I keep trying.” Yuuri offered with a small smile.

“This must seem so stupid in comparison,” Yuri said barely above a whisper.

“We all have different challenges. Someone else’s battle does not diminish your own.”

“Is that some Japanese proverb or something?”

Yuuri shrugged. “Maybe? But I think I saw it on Twitter.”

Yuri’s eyes went wide in disbelief for a second before he laughed and his shoulder bumped into Yuuri’s. The weight that had been hanging over them began to dissipate into a comfortable silence. Yuri kicked one of Yuuri’s skates with his own.

“Hmm?” Yuuri looked over to where Yuri sat next to him.

“Thanks.” Yuri grumbled out before standing and walking towards the door. He paused for a moment with his hand pressed against the cool steel of the door and looked back at Yuuri with a glinting fire in his eyes. “Let’s go wage war then.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked this perhaps consider checking out my other YOI works. They can be found here: [LittleDancer8](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleDancer8/works?fandom_id=11444638/)
> 
> Also, if you are 18 or over you can join us on the [18+!!! on Ice Discord server.](https://discord.gg/jRXfSXc/)


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